The Toren Condominium Tower

The Toren is the most environmentally advanced large residential building in New York, and perhaps the US. This 37 story, 263,750 sq. ft. high-rise consisted of 240 apartments and commercial units. It was developed by BFC Partnership, and designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. BFC and SOM turned to Energy Concepts to design an innovative space conditioning system that would not interfere with the floor-to-ceiling glass envelope, while using the least amount of energy. The result are apartments that feature breathtaking views of NY Harbor and a LEED Gold certification.

At the heart of the building’s mechanical system is a super-efficient, ultra-clean 500kW tri-generation plant. The gas–fired plant generates electricity, heating and cooling, and is capable of providing back up power during blackouts. The plant’s remarkable efficiency results in reducing the building’s carbon footprint by almost 1,000 tons of CO2 a year, and annual energy cost savings of $540,000. The plant is operated as a stand-alone business entity, and its output is metered and sold to the condos. The Toren’s power plant features five Tecogen InVerde100 units. This inverter-based cogeneration unit is grid-connected yet is able to keep operating in “Island Mode” to supply power during blackouts.